Everton loanee Niels Nkounkou is set to return to Merseyside after Standard Liege ended their campaign in disappointment at the weekend. The left-back was sent for a temporary spell with the Belgian club in the summer despite the Blues not signing a back-up in that area of the pitch.
Across his time with the club, the defender made 23 Jupiler Pro League appearances primarily in his natural position - although some games saw him step up into left midfield. Of those, the 21-year-old completed the 90 minutes on 13 occasions.
However, the form of Standard Liege throughout the campaign faltered and they could not force their way into the play-offs at the end of the Belgian term. They finished 14th place in the league, 15 points behind an eight-place finish that would have seen them participate in the post-season matches, after losing 3-0 to STVV on Sunday.
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That, in turn, means Nkounkou's campaign has come to an early end with the defender set to return to Everton. He would not be eligible to take part in any matches for the Blues before the end of the 2021/22 campaign.
The defender still has one year left to run on his current contract with the club having been signed in the summer of 2020 on a three-year deal. Since his loan departure the Blues have had a big change to their first-team left-backs - with Lucas Digne leaving to join Aston Villa and Vitalii Mykolenko being signed from Dynamo Kyiv.
It's yet to see how Nkounkou may fit into that dynamic, whether another loan might be sought or if the club would be looking for a permanent transfer for the Frenchman.
